It is with great pleasure that we present the below Matchbox Pictures’ media release issued today [Tues 15 November] announcing Safe Harbour. Screen Queensland is a proud investor of Safe Harbour along with Screen Australia and SBS.
MATCHBOX EMBARKS ON NEW SBS DRAMA SAFE HARBOUR
Tuesday 15 November 2016: Screen Australia, SBS and Screen Queensland announced today that a new Matchbox Pictures series has been green-lit. The 4 x one hour drama, Safe Harbour, explores how a single action can have a ripple effect, building and building to tsunami proportions.
Written by Belinda Chayko , Matt Cameron and Phil Enchelmaier the series will be produced by Stephen Corvini (Hyde & Seek, Schapelle) and directed by Daniel Nettheim (Hyde & Seek, Broadchurch, Doctor Who).
Stephen Corvini, Producer Matchbox Pictures, said: ‘It is really fantastic to be working with SBS on such an ambitious project. We’ve assembled a terrific creative team and they’re going to deliver a timely and thought provoking drama.’
Sally Caplan, Head of Production at Screen Australia, said: ‘We are thrilled to be supporting this production from Matchbox Pictures. It is exactly the type of distinctive and diverse storytelling we have come to expect from SBS, entertaining us as viewers whilst challenging us to reflect on the contemporary issues of today.’
The story begins when a group of six friends embark on a yacht trip from Brisbane to Indonesia, a chance for adventure and to enjoy a holiday at the same time. The group is just a day’s sail from their destination when something appears on the horizon. Another boat.
The group come to the aid of a broken-down asylum seekers’ boat, leading to a tragic series of events that return to haunt them four years later.
SBS Director of TV and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said ‘SBS drama allows us to tell uniquely diverse stories no other network would tackle in a way that provokes debate and makes us think outside the square. Safe Harbour is a bold psychological thriller about a group of friends who experience an unexpected encounter with asylum seekers on holidays that alters their lives forever. This timely Australian story will keep viewers thinking about it long after the end credits have rolled.’
‘Screen Queensland is proud that the contemporary and topical story as told through Safe Harbour, originated from Queensland creatives Simon Kennedy and Phil Enchelmaier, and was picked up and developed through Matchbox Pictures as part of Screen Queenslander Enterprise funding,’ said Tracey Vieira, CEO, Screen Queensland. ‘We are thrilled to invest in this dramatic series and see the story unfold from concept to screen.’
Produced by Matchbox Pictures with major investment from Screen Australia, SBS and with state investment from Screen Queensland. NBCUniversal International Distribution will distribute the series worldwide.
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